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Diet Vs Exercise for weight loss

The battle of diet versus exercise has formed the backbone of the weight loss debate since time immemorial. Dieting and working out are both ways to introduce the calorific deficit necessary for losing weight. Often, even your slimming centre in Singapore will ask you to cut down on bad calories through food. However, critics have been divided on the role of one over the other in shedding the extra pounds. Doing a little exercise can make us believe that we have earned the required calorific deficit and can start binging on junk again. If you too want to know the truth of diet versus exercise for weight loss and some slimming tips especially for women, do read on.

What’s more to weight loss?

No matter how appealing exercise looks, the truth is that weight loss is more about choosing the right kind of food than trying to work it off your body in the gym. Popular culture and the media often projects images of people sweating it out in the gym and eventually reaching the desired weight, but the fact is something else. Staying physically active is one thing, and staying in control of what you’re eating is another. The fact is that one hour of running at the slimming centre burns only about 350-400 calories. One could easily choose a bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables over a hamburger and instantly ‘lose’ some hundred calories. Quitting fizzy drinks and energy bars will have the same effect, and so weight loss seems to be more about diet.

Does dieting only work?

Staying in control of one’s diet need not mean eating less or starving yourself. Weight loss can still be brought on by choosing better food. Many people do not experience actual weight loss because their calorie-counting is faulty. It makes you believe you have gained fewer calories than you actually have. Instead, you should focus on halving your portions. If you have to eat a burger, eat only half of it. However, it is better to eat healthier and lighter alternatives, instead of checking portions. Leguminous foods, lean meat, fresh fruits and vegetables are examples of foods that give you a feeling of fullness. Dieting can help bring about weight loss by way of eating less.

Does exercise alone do better?

A number of methods for weight loss have come up in the recent few years. Dieticians can help lose inches off the belly. Slimming centres are offering holistic weight loss using ancient processes. However, exercise is not rendered inessential. When you adopt exercise along with a diet plan aimed at weight loss, you are working to gain health. Working out helps in the stimulation of metabolic tissues, and ensures that you are losing weight only through excess fat. Maintaining muscle mass and bone density are crucial to healthy weight loss. Exercise is very important for weight loss since it also means added health benefits like better sleep, less cholesterol and stress.

Therefore, it would be a mistake to believe that there is just one winner in the battle of diet and exercise. To be slim and in good health all over, both food and physical activity are indispensable.